Dare You To Love Me

«20» a familial embrace

When she made it into the foyer, Yaseerah had no intention of coming across her father or any occupant of the manor.

But in the end, what she wanted didn’t matter, because he was waiting for her right outside her bedroom door, his expression stoic, not betraying an ounce of his thoughts.

Yaseerah’s heart dropped to the pit of her stomach as she stood rooted in her spot, dread and anxiety forcing her to lean against the wall for support.

It was only then as gravity threatened to pull her down that she remembered she hadn’t eaten anything since last night, which was a strange thought to have, when one was faced with their literal demise.

How long her father had been waiting for her was anyone’s guess and when she looked at Lubna for any clue, she was as always, entirely useless.

Lubna’s eyes darted between Yaseerah and her husband, a slight frown creasing her forehead but otherwise she made no attempt to be of any help.

Why Yaseerah had looked towards her for help was a mystery for another day.

“Good evening Father,” she greeted, her tone placid, dropping her chin demurely.

Abdul-Aziz Bako’s gaze darkened as he stared at his firstborn, noting her dressing–beige capelet, black pantsuit and black capelet–with disgust and fury. “Where have you been?”

A chill ran down her spine at his question, and Yaseerah grappled with a plausible excuse for where she could have gone to. She had no doubt her father knew about Mamu’s hospitalisation but she knew he wouldn’t care if she told him she needed time to come to terms with everything that had happened.

“I...” her eyes once again darted towards Lubna hoping this time, she would come to her rescue, but she avoided her gaze, standing firm besides her husband.

“Your phone, now!”

“Baba...” she began to say, the same time as Lubna called his name. “Abdul...”

“Stay out of this Lubna,” he cut her off, throwing a scathing glance her way, making shrink into herself, before he fixed his gaze on his daughter.

“I will not ask you again, Yaseerah.” His voice was lethally calm, and Yaseerah had no option but to surrender her device to him.

As the phone changed hands, her phone chimed with an incoming text message, making her recoil, as her father shot her a glance, before he read the message.

She could feel his eyes boring into her, when he was done reading whatever the message had said but she dared not glance at him.

The weight of judgment hung in the air between them, creating an oppressive silence in the hallway.

Risking a stolen glance, Yaseerah watched as he scrolled through her phone, his face never betraying any emotions.

Yaseerah had no idea what his intentions were, but when he locked eyes with her for an extended ominous moment, she knew she was done for.

Without uttering a single word, he returned the phone to her, and walked away, his silence echoing louder than any accusation, and for the first time in her life, Yaseerah wished he had raised his hands to her because his silence was far much lethal than any abuse she had suffered from him.

Glancing back at her phone with trepidation in her veins, Yaseerah read the message through the notification bar of her phone.

I haven’t lived long on this planet Yaseerah but you are by far the greatest thing that has ever happened to me. You have and will always be the only woman for me, just as the house will only ever be yours, whenever you’re ready. The passcode is your birthday.